Blog by a Belgian Flying Photographer based in Dubai (UAE) specializing in Architectural, Travel and Aviation photography

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Pic(k) of the week 16: ROOFTOPPING WITH THE FUJIFILM GFX 50S

Last week I finally got my hands on Fujifilm latest camera; the GFX 50S, a +50Mpx Medium Format camera, which got a lot of attention when it was announced at Photokina 2016!

Although the camera is much larger (and a bit heavier) than my X-T2, it remains "portable" and feels pretty much like carrying a Canon or Nikon full frame DSLR around. Obviously with the advantage of having a sensor which is 1.7 larger than full frame and with a higher resolution of most!

Even though the GFX is the start of a brand new lens system for Fujifilm, three lenses were available (two primes 63mm f2.8 and 120mm f4.0, one zoom 32-64mm f4.0) on the day the GFX 50S was available. More lenses will be released in the second part of 2017.

Right now it looks like I won't be doing a "First Look review" on the camera, as I would rather like to concentrate on the Fujifilm X-series cameras instead; these by the way will continue to be developed with new lenses and bodies to be released in the future. The GFX Medium Format system would be great for my Architectural and Landscape photography; something I would like to explore during the 10 days I have the camera available.

One of the very first shots I took with the GFX 50S, was the rooftop shot below, made early morning in Dubai from one of the high-rise buildings along Sheik Zayed road. Special thanks to a Dubai photographer friend who organized the access to the spot. You'll know who you are!

Although, I have mixed feelings about the large number of rooftop shots we get to see from Dubai on on almost daily basis, there is something magical about looking down on a city that wakes up...

Make sure to click on the image below to really appreciate the full resolution of the +50Mpx file. Although I'm not a pixel peeper, one can almost not resist to zoom in to 400% or so, and read road signs and other tiny details. Please check out the excellent GFX review done by fellow X-Photographer Jonas Rask here. More Architectural shots from Dubai can be found here. Lastly, the image above is my 1000th post on Instagram! Only been on it for two years, the follower ship has grown a lot organically (not by paying companies to get me followers!). Today it is by far my preferred Social Media network for my photography. If you don't do so already, make sure to follow me on Instagram here.